In the summer of 2001 a book I had written was published. The title was Tocsin: A Warning From The New Middle Ages. By way of explanation, a tocsin is the sound of a bell or some other device used in olden days to warn of approaching danger. I am going to quote selected passages from the Preface and the Epilogue that continue to be relevant in the present environment.

“We live in exciting times. Technology-led prosperity has changed the world. It has transformed geopolitical configurations. It has confronted long standing problems. It has continually tested known limitations. These prodigious accomplishments have propelled their vehicles, market capitalism and republican democracy, to sites throughout the world. The messianic fervor in support of these concepts has stoked the fires of consumerism so that a continued expansion of consumption and acquisition seems inevitable.

“However, danger lurks beneath this mantle of confidence. Globalism is racing ahead of its supporting institutions. The ability of government entities to relate to each other has decreased piecemeal. Darkly murderous conflicts have erupted and persisted with disturbing frequency. The socioeconomic health of many countries is balanced precariously upon the unsteady pinnacle of financial markets. The disparity between the advantaged and the disadvantaged is growing distressingly wide. In many advanced societies families and communities are mere shadows of what they have been. Meanwhile, individuals have become absorbed with self-gratification, often at the expense of those around them.

“The New Middle Ages have arrived, whether we realize it or not. Medieval wisps are already threading their way through the interstices in our societal ramparts. Before long they are likely to occlude most ecumenical interactions. Therefore, the time is rapidly approaching when remedial action will no longer be effective. Even now individuals are retreating behind closed doors to indulge in the ephemeral delights provided by consumption. The full participation of our leadership in this unfortunate diversion is exposing the industrial world’s social contracts to the prospect of radical change. The window of opportunity to preserve options by exercising communitarian and confederational muscles is rapidly snapping shut.

“Enticed by their elites into believing that individuals and reason rule, the industrial nations have stripped themselves of the societal armor that facilitated their greatness. If they persist in discarding their protective principles, democracies will find themselves reduced to scattered nodes only rudimentally equipped with the linking ganglia of broad based self-government. The paradoxical illusion of computerized connection may be exposed as an oligarchic cauldron of data and propaganda seething in the electronic veins of global informational technology. By then the damage will have been done and democracy’s vitality will have been sapped by the vampire of greed.

“Nonetheless, it is still my hope that intelligence plus a proclivity for self-preservation will prevail among human beings. It would be a tragedy indeed if neither our collective knowledge nor our considerable resources could divert us from malignantly medieval behavior. Should this behavioral tragedy occur it would be particularly inane because it is well within the grasp of our present abilities to avoid the type of affliction visited upon our ancestors.

“A tocsin peals as the darkness approaches. Its purpose is to inspire a reaction strong enough to forestall disaster and to preserve vibrancy. A similar alarm was barely heard in early fourteenth century Europe. Let us hope that the multitude of warning signs will be more effectively heeded today.”

The series of events that has taken place since the summer of 2001 is ample proof that the New Middle Ages are upon us. Despite the gathering gloom it is not too late for action. First of all we need to put our own fiscal and governmental houses in order. Then we can be an example to the world, rather than an imposer or occupier. Our foundational principles, properly burnished and understood, can still guide us. Less division and more unity of purpose can augment our inherent strength. While the situation is at least as serious as I described it a decade ago, it is far from hopeless. Please, let us listen to the pealing tocsin. Let us respond decisively and with compassion.